1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to telecommunication systems and more particularly to a method and system for providing additional information associated with a calling party""s telephone number.
2. Background of the Invention
Subscribers to telephone services often subscribe to services such as xe2x80x9ccaller IDxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9ccaller ID deluxexe2x80x9d that provide the subscriber with the telephone number or the name and telephone number, respectively, of the calling party. The telephone number and name of the calling party are usually shown on a display mounted on, or otherwise in communication with, the subscriber""s telephone handset. An example of such a display is an LCD screen that displays one or more lines of information. Services such as caller ID or caller ID deluxe do not provide any way for the subscriber to receive any additional information that the calling party may want to provide to the subscriber.
The present invention provides subscribers with the ability to obtain additional information from the calling party. Subscribers to a service such as calling party ID can obtain additional information by downloading the additional information from a website maintained by the calling party. The calling party""s telephone number is the universal resource locator (URL) for the website. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, when a telephone call reaches the subscriber""s handset, the telephone network provides an indication, e.g., by adding a special character, for example, an xe2x80x9c*xe2x80x9d, to the display, or by underlining all or part of the telephone number, or by showing a blinking number. For example, the network might add the xe2x80x9c*xe2x80x9d at the end of the calling party""s telephone number. The xe2x80x9c*xe2x80x9d (or underlining or other indicator) notifies the subscriber that the calling party has made additional information available, and that additional information may be obtained by accessing a website (or possible another information source that could be identified using, in part, the calling party""s telephone number). Preferably, the handset is a xe2x80x9csmartphonexe2x80x9d or a xe2x80x9cbrowser phonexe2x80x9d such as a W@P handset (a handset that meets the standards of the W@P forum, described below). However, the present invention will work with any communication device that allows two-way communication, such as cellular telephones, two-way pagers, caller ID boxes with two-way capability, ISDN telephones, VOIP telephones and POTS telephones with browser capabilities.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the subscriber requests the additional information by using a softkey or entering a special code that initiates the service. Alternatively, if the device has a special hard key that initiates the service, the subscriber just presses the hard key on the handset to request the service. The request activates a program on the handset that automatically initiates an internet protocol (IP) connection to, e.g., a web server or other database. Preferably, the program is a Java or Wireless Markup Language (WML) script program. The subscriber can initiate the request either while the telephone is ringing (before answering the call), during the call while the number is displayed (if the handset can simultaneously support a voice call and an IP session), or after recalling numbers of calling parties stored in the handset""s memory (and noting that certain calling party numbers have an xe2x80x9c*xe2x80x9d at the end of the number).
The program initiates a request from the handset through the wireless network over the Internet to a website identified by the calling party""s telephone number, i.e., the website""s URL is the calling party""s telephone number. The calling party maintains the website. The website will be referred to herein as the calling party""s website. At this point, the subscriber""s handset is in communication with the calling party""s website. The subscriber""s handset then downloads the information stored on the calling party""s website for display on the subscriber""s handset.
When the request includes the subscriber""s telephone number as well as the calling party""s telephone number, the information downloaded to the subscriber could depend on the subscriber""s telephone number. For example, if the website is maintained by a construction company, it could be used to send one set of additional information to the company""s engineers, another set to the contractors, and a third set to the suppliers. In another example, subscribers included in a list of telephone numbers stored at the website (e.g., the company""s employees) could receive additional information that is different from the information that would be received by others. In these cases, requests from different groups of subscribers could be routed to different pages on the website.
Accordingly, the present invention provides calling parties with a fast and efficient method for providing additional information to subscribers using websites on the internet. It allows calling parties to add to, modify and/or delete the additional information independently of the telephone network. Furthermore, with the present invention, different subscribers may be directed to different URLs, depending on their telephone number.